Park Fellow Alumni Profiles

Marianne Diamond, MBA '99

The Park program provides a forum to experiment with leadership from two angles-recognized industry professionals and peers. I remember a dinner for Park Fellows only featuring Bob Galvin (former CEO of Motorola), and thinking there weren't many programs that could offer the type of access that the Park program could provide. My program peers were all recognized as proven (and still aspiring) leaders, and were an invaluable source of wisdom.

I do not necessarily believe that one can be taught to be a leader, however, the Park program provided a supportive environment that afforded me many opportunities to hone existing leadership skills and take risks to develop my personal leadership style. A solid general leadership skill set has been invaluable throughout my career as I have transitioned across multiple industries and have advanced to new levels of responsibility. Being recognized as a leader opens doors to a limitless set of opportunities, in which the required subject matter expertise is of secondary concern.

Pre-MBA Employer:

UBS Securities

Park Project:

Diamond was in the first Park class and worked on a business case to expand the services being offered by the local Catholic Charities chapter in Dryden, NY. Catholic Charities is a nonprofit organization that serves low- and moderate-income families and individuals.